Home Cooking and Baking

When it comes to slimming down our family budgets, food is one area we often overlook. Unlike new clothes, toys or entertainment, food is something we can't live without, so it's easier to justify what we spend. The logic is, you've got to eat, so you've got to spend. But even though we can't cut out spending on food entirely, we can drastically cut back our spending by preparing our own meals.

The most obvious and financially rewarding change we can make is to avoid restaurants, cafeterias and prepared meals from grocery stores altogether. Instead of grabbing a pre-made sandwich at Marks & Spencer, or eating lunch at a restaurant, pack something from home. A simple way to do this is to make extra food for dinner the night before and then pack the leftovers in a reusable container. At work, simply heat it in the microwave. If your workspace doesn't have a microwave or refrigerator, make your own sandwich and keep it cool in a cheap, insulated lunch box. Stick to sandwiches with few and simple ingredients to keep your costs low. In the evenings, consider inviting your friends over for a dinner party instead of meeting them at a restaurant. It's less expensive for everyone and you might find it brings you closer together.

Once you've committed to preparing more of your own meals, you can further reduce the price of the meals you make by shopping smartly. Avoid ready-made products like sauce mixes, pre-cut vegetables and snack foods. These foods generally cost more and the ease of preparation means that you're likely to eat more than you really need, which is not good for your wallet or your waste line. Instead, make a list of your favourite, easy-to-prepare meals. Then briefly outline the ingredients you need to make each dish. When you're finished, take a look at all the ingredients you've listed. Chances are you'll see a few things that are repeated again and again, like rice, pasta, potatoes, flour, sugar, butter, tomato paste, oil, pepper, chicken breast or ground beef. You've just identified a list of core ingredients that you should have on hand at all times and a set of corresponding recipes you can always fall back on. This means that when you hit the grocery store, you'll be less likely to buy on impulse. Rather, you can focus on the items you know you need, taking note of which stores have the best prices and stocking up on core ingredients when they go on sale.

Soon, you'll develop a basic shopping list you can use each time you go to the store so that you can always prepare a few tried and true meals. As you get comfortable shopping for and preparing these meals, you can look for new recipes that incorporate the same ingredients or other cheap foods that you might not be eating yet, like dried beans.

Cooking your own meals requires a little extra preparation and effort, but you'll find it's well worth the savings.

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